Panthers to Compete at Penn State National Open
1/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 27, 2009
Penn State National Open Notes 
PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh track and field teams will head north for a second time this indoor season for the Penn State National Open. The team is set to compete on Friday, Jan. 30 and Sat. Jan. 31 against some of the top competitors in the Big East.
Members of the team will try to continue the success they had last weekend at the State Farm Games, which were held at West Virginia University. Nine members of the team hit post season qualifying standards at the meet on Jan. 24. Freshman Dan Kwiatkowski was one of them. Kwiatkowski garnered first place in the shot put with a mark of 15.84 meters. His throw was also enough to make him an IC4A qualifier.
In the sprints, Maka Mudekunye captured first in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash at the State Farm Games. Teammate Dontave Cowsette also finished first in the 500 meter dash with a time of 1:06.01. Both will look to shave more off of their times as the competition will not let up at the Penn State National Open.
On the women's side, Sarah Anderson captured first and second in her events at the State Farm Games. The sophomore came in first in the weight throw and became a Big East qualifier. She grabbed second in the shot put with a throw of 12.41 meters.
In the running events, Kari Hedderick turned in a first place finish in the 500 meter dash and became a Big East qualifier. In the 800 meter run, Miya Johnson posted a time of 2:20.25 for first as well.
The Panthers should see success this weekend if they continue to build off of the State Farm Games. The Penn State National Open will be the biggest meet that the Panthers have competed in this indoor season. The meet is scheduled to begin on Friday, Jan. 30 and will continue until Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. The Panthers will face both new and old competition with Syracuse, Georgetown, Akron, West Virginia, and Villanova among the long list of teams competing.